


2009x2015

by Catfeyrac



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: 2009!Dan, 2009!Phil, 2009x2015, 2015!Dan, 2015!Phil, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-25
Updated: 2015-05-05
Packaged: 2018-03-15 00:35:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3431453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catfeyrac/pseuds/Catfeyrac
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan wakes up to find himself back in 2009 without any explanation or solution. He doesn't know how to get back, so he figures he should spend his time with Phil, like usual. What isn't usual is the sudden lack in age gap and extreme flirtiness of his best friend.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Dan that comes from 2009 has to deal with this crush on this older, even hotter Phil.</p>
<p>----------------------------</p>
<p>An amazing person decided to translate this fic into Russian!! Here's the link so check it out :0 https://ficbook.net/readfic/5736715</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this work was inspired by the amazing http://phantheraglama.tumblr.com/ who has been drawing this concept for a while and gave me the idea to write it (seriously go check out her art it is the best oh my god)

It was quiet outside, save for a few birds chirping. Usually Dan could hear sirens or _something_ going on outside his window. But he supposed he shouldn’t be complaining; it was peaceful. Dan was ready to let the thought disappear as he fell back asleep, until he felt something weird with his blanket. He could feel his feet sticking out of it, and weirdly enough, it felt much thinner than usual. When he opened his eyes finally to look, he froze. He wasn’t in his bed. It wasn’t his room, but it was.  
“What... the fuck?” he said to himself as he sat up, realizing he was back in his family home.  
He had been in London last night. In his bed, he remembered saying goodnight to Phil. Not only that, but he didn’t have that television anymore. It had stopped turning on sometime a couple years ago, he remembered throwing it out. But there it was, good as new. It looked like he’d woken up right back into 2009. He glanced on the floor.  
There was no way.  
His crappy old laptop sat on the floor, as new as it had been in the same year he started his channel.  
Thoroughly freaked out, Dan slowly picked it up and opened it. It started up easily, something it hadn’t done in years. His mouth dropped open as the screen opened to a Skype page. It looked like he’d been Skyping Phil all night, except it was from 5 years ago. His eyes jumped to two particular messages.  
 **Phil: ‘lol i just found the titanic drawing i did when we did pinof’**  
 **Dan: ‘wow but that was like a month ago’**  
He looked at the time and date on the bottom of the screen. Currently, it was 8:24, December 7 th… 2009.  
“This… what…?” Dan said aloud in confusion. He went to his internet- oh god, Internet Explorer- and found his twitter open. His icon- Dan had to look away because it was so cringe worthy. It was the Myspace angle photo he had 5 years ago. The newest tweet was from Phil, and Dan couldn’t even read it because Phil’s icon was from 2009 too. He shut the laptop and put his head in his hands, trying to make sense of it. There was only one explanation, but it couldn’t be possible. Unless this was a very big prank and they’d somehow managed to accurately recreate his room and the Skype messages and the tweets… and get him on a plane without him waking up or even noticing. After a moment, he opened the laptop again. After it loaded again, he went to his channel.  
Three videos. “HELLO INTERNET”, “Butterfingers”, “Procrastination”. It all added up. He went to Phil’s, again, only up to 2009. He went to Tumblr, it was the old layout. He checked the YouTube channels of some of his friends. Tyler Oakley looked like a fetus in his newest video, only uploaded an hour ago “Snap like a Diva”. Zoella only had her first two videos; Joe’s channel didn’t even exist yet.  
He shut it again, feeling sick.  
“What the fuck is going on…?” he muttered as he got up and looked out the window.  
It looked like it did five years ago, and Dan’s head was starting to hurt at this point.  
How had he somehow managed to get to 2009? And more importantly, how was he going to get back? Would Phil wake up and realize Dan was gone? Or would it be like no time had passed at all?  
Dan froze when he heard footsteps. The door opened and he felt like a deer in the headlights as his mother stepped into the room. When she saw him, her eyes widened and he could tell she was about to scream, not recognizing him. He could only imagine what this looked like, considering the actual him that was supposed to be here wasn’t. He quickly stood up, shushing her.  
“Mum, shh, sh, sh!” he said quickly, moving towards her.  
She stopped, her mouth frozen open with shock when he called her Mum. She looked closer at him.  
“D-Daniel? Is that you?” she stammered quietly.  
He nodded, “Yeah.”  
“But… My Dan isn’t that tall. Your hair is shorter, but you look just like him.” She murmured, trying to piece it together.  
“Yeah… This is going to sound really crazy… I’m not sure how, but somehow I’ve come back to 2009, and so far the only explanation I have is that this must all just be a really weird dream and I’m gonna wake up and it’s going to be 2015 again, and I’m going to laugh about it with Phil tomorrow morning.” He explained.  
Her hand reached up to cover her mouth, and Dan realized how much younger she actually looked.  
“You mean to say… you’re Dan… but from the future?” her voice cracked at the last word.  
He nodded, slowly but seriously. She stared at him, recognition flooding into her face.  
“I know it sounds crazy, but I don’t know how or why I’m here, or where 2009 me is. Literally, I’m just as confused as you are.” He rambled.  
“I believe you,” she said softly.  
“Really? I mean, I thought I would have to answer an interrogation. Like “Prove that you are actually Dan Howell” or something like that.” He said, sitting back on the bed so he didn’t tower over her.  
“No, how can I deny that you look like an older Dan… 2015… Five years away. You are 23?” she asked, sitting beside him, faced towards him.  
“Yeah,” he replied, facing her in return.  
“Oh, how are you? What is my little Dan’s life like in the future? Are you happy?”  
Dan almost laughed at the immediate mothering he got, but looking back at how he’d been five years ago and earlier, he realized that in this point of time, she hadn’t seen him truly happy or successful.  
“I’m fine, other than confused about this whole situation. But I’m going to pretend for a moment that I’m not in it. I live in London with Phil, we moved into a flat together there after getting a radio show with the BBC.” He felt his eyes start well up a little as he saw the look on his mother’s face when he said that. “The whole YouTube thing I was- or am doing, I guess, that you may or may not know about- that’s actually my career now. I make videos for a living, and I have millions of fangirls who watch them and buy my merch, along with Phil’s.” he sounded like he was boasting, but it was worth it for the happy tears running down his mum’s cheeks. “Me and Phil have been best friends for 5 years, and it doesn’t look like it’s stopping anytime soon. We’ve presented in award shows and interviewed famous people like Fall Out Boy, and we’ve had our posters in magazines, and we’ve won awards, and gone to conventions as guests, and we’ve even had cameos in a Disney movie.” He rambled. “And so yes, I am very happy.” He concluded.  
She suddenly leapt up and hugged him.  
“Then I don’t care if this is a weird dream, or whatever is going on. My son is happy, that’s all that matters.”  
“But I don’t know how to get back to my year. Phil could be worried out of his mind- Oh my god Phil is here too.” He put his head in his hands again, squeezing his temples. “What if this is for a long time? I don’t want to not talk to Phil and potentially ruin the friendship for myself, oh god if that happened, would me and Phil not be friends when I got back?”  
He felt his mother’s hand on his back, rubbing it soothingly.  
“You could go to him, explain what’s going on in person, since I suppose I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it.”  
“You’d let me go to Phil’s house, that’s halfway across the country?”  
She let out a breathy laugh, shaking her head at him. “Well, maybe I would be a little hesitant to let Dan go again when he’s 18, but even then he’s an adult. You are 23; I can hardly stop you from going anyways, can I?”  
“…Right.”

It was noisy outside. Dan tossed over, trying to ignore the sirens outside. Once they stopped, it only lead to more noise. Dan groaned, opening his eyes. He blinked, shooting up and looking around. He was in an unfamiliar room, and the light coming in from the window allowed him to see the things in it, like the really cool butt chair by the piano, and the artwork on the wall. It was a cool room, but what scared him was that it wasn’t his. He glanced something out of the corner of his eye. It was another painting, but it was… of him. Riding a llama on a rainbow on a space background. What caught his eye, however, was “DANISNOTONFIRE” written on the bottom. This was weird. He got out of the bed and tiptoed to the door. He could hear someone shuffling in another room. Grabbing a big Winnie the Pooh book from the shelf, for protection in case whoever was out there had kidnapped him, he creaked open the door and walked down the hallway. He found the kitchen, and he could hear someone humming something from behind the doorway. He peeked behind the doorway, and his mouth dropped open. The man standing there was _hot_. He looked up and Dan felt another shock, and it seemed the man did too.  
“Dan?! But that’s what you looked like in 2009!” the man exclaimed, and Dan felt himself drop the book when he heard his voice, his strong Northern accent piercing through Dan’s ears.  
There was no denying that this man was Phil.


	2. Chapter 2

Dan felt anxious during the whole train ride. _It was certainly a trip down memory lane_ , he thought as he stared out the window to the landmarks he’d remembered from going to Phil’s house like he was now. He fell asleep during part of it, and was terrified but slightly relieved that he was still on the train. Terrified, of course, because he had no idea how to get back. He was trapped in the past. But there was a part of him that was excited by this strange happening, and to see Phil again, the way he’d fallen in love with him the first time. He could still remember the first time he’d rode on this train, feeling a lot like he did now, strangely enough. He kept trying to figure out what he would say, how he would explain what was going on, even fretting over his appearance as the train started slowing down.

Dan could feel his heart beat faster and faster with every step towards Phil’s door. His hand hovered hesitantly over the wood for a moment. With a shaky breath, he knocked on the door three times, then stepped back and waited. After a minute, he could hear someone come to the door. He felt his heart drop when he saw Phil, like he hadn’t in years. _He’d forgotten how long his hair actually was, and how young he looked now. It was weird to think that Dan was the same age, maybe a year older than him now._  
“Uh, hi,” Dan said nervously.  
“Whoa, you sound just like my friend Dan,” Phil interrupted, opening the door a little more.    
“Yeah… see, the thing is, I kinda am Dan.”  
Well, so much for his well-thought out plan. Phil’s brows furrowed in confusion, looking closer at him.  
“But-”  
“I’m from 2015. Five years away. And I don’t know how, but somehow I’ve ended up back in time to 2009.” Dan blurted out, trying to explain it as simply as he could.  
“Wait, so you are saying that you are Dan from the future?” Phil questioned, staring at him in disbelief.  
“Yeah. I don’t know how to get back, so I decided I might as well come here. Honestly, it only just now occurred to me that that could be dangerous to the timelines or something like that.”  
Phil was silent for a second, still staring at him. Then, his mouth split into a grin, “You could say it would be Dan-gerous to see me.”  
“Phi-oh my god.” Dan said, putting a hand over his face. “Well at least you aren’t screaming and calling the cops on the lunatic outside your door.”  
Phil smiled, “No, I believe you. I mean, you look so much like him you either have to be him from the future or a long lost older twin brother. Come on, we can talk in my room then.”  
Phil led Dan to his room, but he remembered it clearly. He let out a shaky laugh when he saw the room again, from the Sarah Michelle Gellar poster taped to the ceiling to the blue-and-green duvet that Phil still had. Phil sat on the bed, still staring at him. Dan sat next to him as if by instinct, scooting away when he realized how close he’d sat to Phil.  
“So you are really Dan?”  
“Yeah, go on, you can test me on that.”  
Phil thought for a moment.  
“What was the first thing we did when we met?”  
“At the train station?”  
Phil nodded, a smile growing on his face.  
“Well, I remember I was really nervous and generally didn’t know what to do, and so when we actually saw each other, it was you that had to hug me.”  
Phil laughed, shaking his head. “I can’t believe this. I mean, this is-”  
“Amazing?”  
Phil grinned at him, “Definitely Dan. What’s it like in the future? How am I? Or do you not know? Are we still friends?”  
Dan smiled at the worried tone starting to creep into Phil’s voice.  
“Don’t worry, we are still friends. Best friends. We moved in together in 2010 in Manchester, and then we moved to London together in 2012. We still live in London, and we are both YouTubers. I don’t think you know this, but it actually became our jobs basically. We get paid to do it.”  
“That’s incredible!”  
“Yeah… I’m not going to say anymore, in case it does start to mess things up.” Dan said as an afterthought.  
“Alright. Do you have anywhere to go?” Phil asked.  
“Like right now? Not really. I just hoped you’d let me in, honestly.”  
Phil rolled his eyes, “You can stay here. My parents are out of town for a while though, but I don’t think that would be a problem. They basically went off on a relative visiting spree, but I still have classes, so I just have the house for the holidays. I hope that isn’t a problem?”  
Dan could swear he could hear a tone of something in Phil’s voice. Was he being flirted with?  
“No, probably makes things easier,” Dan mumbled, feeling his face heat up a little.  
“Good. How old are you, by the way? 23?” Phil asked, and Dan didn’t know if him getting closer was intentional.  
“Oh, uh, yeah,” Dan stammered, definitely feeling redness spreading.  
“I’m about to turn 23, next month.” Phil said, easing off and spreading out on his bed behind Dan.  
“Yeah, I know.” Dan laughed awkwardly.  
Phil laughed, “I can see that you are still as awkward as ever. But you look good. You look hot at 23.”  
Dan almost cried.

  
He couldn’t move. He was frozen in place as Phil slowly walked towards him, not taking his piercing blue eyes off of him.  
“Dan? What happened?”  He asked slowly, a look of confusion and concern on his face.  
“I- I don’t know. I just woke up and I was in a strange room and oh my god you are Phil.” He rambled with wide eyes.  
“Wait, so you… what year are you from?”  
“2009, of course.” Dan replied incredulously.  
 _“Uh, hi…”_  
 _“Whoa, you sound just like my friend Dan!”_  
 _“Yeah… see, the thing is, I kinda am Dan.”_  
Words that he’d never heard before echoed through Phil’s head like a memory. An image of the Dan he was supposed to be saying good morning to was in his head, on the front steps of his old family home, in his old room. It was like he was reliving a memory he’d long forgotten. He looked back at this younger version of Dan. _It didn’t make sense… but from that, it seemed like somehow Dan had traded places with himself. He didn’t know how, and he seemed a little flustered at Phil’s flirting- wait, what?_ He shook his head, _whatever had happened, or was happening, or whatever, he had to figure out what to do with this Dan._  
Phil walked closer to Dan, who was frozen in shock, and gently grabbed his hand. He ignored the redness that flooded Dan’s face as he took him over to the couch and sat him down.  
“Okay, I don’t know what’s going on, but somehow you are in the wrong time. I think my Dan is too, because I can remember him like he was last night, except he’s in 2009 with me then. Somehow you have swapped places with yourself.” Phil explained.  “In theory at least, but it’s the only thing that makes any bit of sense.”  
“Well…” Dan said slowly, “What do we do?”  
“I dunno. Maybe my Dan will figure it out. Maybe we just have to wait. In the meantime… are you hungry?”


	3. Chapter 3

Dan shifted uncomfortably on Phil’s bed, still confused by the whole situation. Phil had gone to get them food from the kitchen, so Dan tried to think of any possible explanation of how he’d gotten there. He thought hard to recollect anything strange that happened the previous night. But nothing was off, at least not that he could remember. But he could remember waking up in his room, but being confused about it. The recollection of Phil being shocked by seeing him, and explaining that they seemed to have switched. Phil had said something about remembering something he’d never experienced before, and Dan guessed that was what he was seeing now. _Could the Dan and Phil from 2015 remember what the 2009 ones were going through right now? Did that mean that they would be able to communicate through their younger selves?_  
Phil walked back in with a tin of chocolates and two microwave dinners. He sat next to Dan, who wanted to sink into the floor as he felt himself flush again.   
“So, uh, theory. I think that me and my Phil can see what you and your Dan see, because it’s like a memory. Because I can remember Phil from this morning- or whatever, the morning I should have been in, or be in. I don’t know, this whole thing is confusing, but I remember him saying that he remembered me here.” Dan explained hurriedly.  
Phil raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side, staring at Dan. He looked away and his face went into one of thought.   
“Uh, basically, what I’m trying to say is, I think I can see 2015 from 2009 Dan’s point of view, and Phil can see from yours.”   
“Ah, okay. That’s actually kinda cool. It’s almost like telepathy, isn’t it?” Phil commented with a grin.   
Dan laughed, “Yeah, I guess so.”   
They fell into silence, but for once, it wasn’t awkward. Phil started digging into the tin, and Dan couldn’t help but stare at him. _This wasn’t the Phil who presented awards and hosted a radio show with him; this was the Phil who had once saved his life. The one who motivated him to keep going, to start his channel, who he could love unconditionally without fear of repercussion. It all seemed so easy back then, even if Phil didn’t feel the same. There weren’t millions of people watching his every move back then and he could shamelessly flirt with him without thinking about it first. He realized how much harder it got as they got older and more popular. Phil just got further and further from his grasp as the years as he’d gone on. This was the Phil he’d fallen in love with, the one he’d had a chance with._  
Phil looked up at him, offering him a chocolate. Dan smiled, a genuine one that he couldn’t help, as he took one and bit into it. The sweetness filled his mouth and for a moment, he could forget the problems at hand. He looked back over and met hooded blue eyes. Phil looked away, and then put the tin on the floor.   
Dan looked back at the floor. _How long would he be stuck here? Enough to have a second chance with this Phil? If he did, would it impact his Phil?_  
Phil crawled past Dan and flopped onto his pillow, shaking the bed a little. Dan looked back with a look of humored amusement, deciding not to dwell on those questions for the time being. Maybe he should just enjoy this time he had. Phil beckoned with his head for Dan to join him. He flipped over so he was lying on his side, and Dan sat beside him with his back on Phil’s pillow, feeling a little awkward.   
“So, just curious, what are your relationships like?” Phil questioned, leaning in a little closer.   
“Oh, uh… well, we don’t have girlfriends, if that’s what you’re asking. We are both single…” Dan answered, looking anywhere but Phil’s eyes.   
“Oh… so we never- never mind.” Phil started, interrupting himself with a little bit of a dejected look.   
“Wasn’t my fault you couldn’t see…” Dan said a little bitterly, his eyes widening when he realized he’d said it aloud. “Fuck, sorry, ignore that!”   
“Ignore what?” Phil said in a sly tone, although he’d certainly brightened up. He was still staring at Dan, and the latter honestly didn’t know how to feel.   
“So you had a crush on me?” Phil asked, but it was more of a statement to be confirmed.   
Dan scrunched up his face, and both of his hands reached up to cover his red face. “Fucking hell…” he sighed before continuing. “J- Yeah. Okay, yeah I did. But you should already know that since I flirted with you all the time.”  
“But I never saw?” Phil pressed, but now he sounded more sincere and serious.   
Dan put his hands down and laid his head against the wall, sighing again. “I can’t believe I’m having this discussion with you.”  
“Just tell me, Dan. You seem upset about it, I want to help.”   
Dan almost laughed, if his eyes weren’t welling up from the memories of five years of staring at Phil, hoping he’d see, wishes he’d made that slowly dwindled down in number as the years went on. “No, you never noticed. Or you ignored it. Well, he did at least. You, I guess, in a sense did know, but didn’t feel the same, so over time, he forgot. He ignored, pretended like nothing had changed, and I did too. And it got harder to try to say it. Five years of wishing for a hopeless cause-” Dan took a deep breath, sitting up.  
He stared hard at Phil’s desk, quickly trying to wipe away the tears that were starting to fall. He felt Phil sit up beside him.   
“I’m sorry… But, you know, I’m not him. Not yet, at least.” Phil said, gently turning Dan’s face towards him with a single hand.   
Dan stared at him, feeling a little vulnerable as Phil reached up and wiped his tears away. Phil looked back up at him, leaning forward. Dan felt both relieved and disappointed when Phil only pulled him into a hug. He hugged back just as tight, hoping that this whole thing did mean a new chance with Phil.

 

Dan had taken an interest in their WiiU, so Phil had let him play Donkey Kong while he sorted out dinner. At the moment, however, it was more of Phil pacing in the kitchen.   
_“You never noticed. Or you ignored it.”_  
The one thing Phil hated most in the world was seeing Dan cry. The worst part was that he’d caused it. And he couldn’t even blame his past self for not noticing, because Dan spoke like it still happened.   
_“Five years of wishing for a hopeless cause.”  
_ Phil wanted to smack himself for being so stupid. _Things had always been different with Dan, so he’d never thought anything of the flirting. He’d only thought Dan was only playing, and he’d stopped as he got older. But seeing Dan admit his crush hurt, the way he turned his face so Phil couldn’t see the tears._ Phil thought about how this Dan had been staring at him earlier, how Dan had always stared at him like that. _Why was he such an idiot? Why did it take them having to relive their pasts for him to realize what had been there the whole time? They didn’t know when or how either of the Dan’s could get back to their proper times, or if they could. What if Phil lost his Dan, the one he’d really grown up with, forever?_


	4. Chapter 4

After about a week of Buffy marathons and Pokémon battles, Dan was still nowhere near close to knowing how to get back. There was a part of him that knew he had to go, but another part of him that didn’t want to. He couldn’t help but think that if he stayed here, he’d just relive the days again, and after 5 years, he would have his Phil again. _But this Phil knew how he felt, and so the Phil he would grow into would too._  
Dan shook his head at himself. He couldn’t stay, no matter how much he wanted to _. Who knows how his subscribers would react if he suddenly vanished. He’d have to start his whole career over in both times, and it could mess something up like it always does in time travel movies. As it was, things could be changing. From Dan’s future memories, it didn’t seem much like it, but there was still every chance._ He looked back over at Phil, who was in the middle of a gym battle _. If he stayed, this Phil could become someone different from the one he knew, for better or worse.  No, he couldn’t stay. If he figured something out, he would have to take it and go back._ He went back to thinking about how to get back.  
“You know, it’s March in my time. But here, it’s December.”  Dan said suddenly as the thought occurred to him.  
Phil looked up at him, “Really? Do you think that could have something to do with it?”  
“Maybe. I don’t know.” He sighed, looking down at his hands, which were twisting with one another.  
Phil shut his DS, putting it beside him on the bed. He sat up, leaning over Dan slightly. He gently took one of Dan’s hands to keep him from fretting. He looked back up at Dan, with an almost sad smile on his face.  
“Would you leave if you figured out how?” he asked softly.  
Dan hesitated. He looked down at their intertwined hands. “There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to…”  
“You could stay then,” Phil said, leaning down even more, towards Dan’s neck.    
Dan stared at Phil, wishing he could. He could feel Phil’s breath on his neck, and he gasped as Phil started sucking on it gently. He closed his eyes, not even caring that he actually just whimpered when Phil let go and began kissing up his jawline. He could feel his heart race in his chest as Phil straddled him, finally kissing his lips hungrily. Dan wrapped his arms around his old best friend, pulling his closer. Phil’s hands were cold on his neck, compared to the burning redness on Dan’s face. Phil slowly pulled away, staring at Dan’s still-closed eyes.  
“Stay with me, Dan,” Phil breathed softly.  
Dan slowly opened his eyes, and he bit his lip as he looked at the other boy’s hopeful face.  
“I- I want to. But I can’t, Phil. It could change things, and I can’t be responsible for that type of thing. But god, I want to.”  
Phil nodded, slowly putting arms down until they wrapped around Dan’s waist. He laid his head into the crook of Dan’s neck, where a light bruise was starting to form. Dan’s breaths were shaky as he buried his head into Phil’s hair, silently hoping he’d get more time.

 

Dan had started warming up to Phil, a little less shy than he’d been. Phil noticed that he still blushed a little when he saw Phil, and it only made him feel worse.  
Phil only let Dan watch older things, so he wouldn’t spoil anything that didn’t exist in Dan’s time yet, so they were watching Buffy reruns as the sun went down. Dan looked into the direction of his future bedroom, seeming a little anxious to leave. Dan thought Phil didn’t know he’d been watching all of his future videos when he “went to bed”, but Phil did know.  
“Go on,” he said. “I hope you are at least watching them in backwards order.”  
Dan blushed and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.”  
“Yeah, yeah, I guess I can’t stop you from watching them, since they are yours technically. But you can’t go around telling people about American Horror Story when you get back to 2009.” Phil said seriously.  
“I wouldn’t do such a thing!”  
Phil rolled his eyes, “I’ve known you for 5 years; yes you would.”  
Dan giggled, not denying it as he walked out.  
“Goodnight, Phil!”  
“Night, Dan!”  
Phil turned off the TV and all of the lights on the way to his own room. He laid on his bed, thinking about the latest memory of 2009.  
 _“Stay with me, Dan.”_  
“I want to…”  
Phil took a deep, somewhat shaky, breath. He tried not to think too hard about it, or about how he could feel his lips tingle from the memory of kissing Dan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS AS CLOSE TO SMUT AS I AM GOING TO BE WRITING
> 
> Edit: JFC I FUCKING LIED


	5. Chapter 5

Dan had stopped thinking about it. Instead, all that filled his mind was the feeling of Phil’s lips on his, and he subconsciously rubbed the hickey that was still present three days later when he did. Phil would look over and smirk to himself, which only made Dan more flustered. 2015 Phil had thought of a theory that he told Dan the night before, and Dan hoped it could be true. He’d at least have a set date if it was.   
_“If it’s December in 2009, then it means the year is almost over. Maybe you and my Dan will switch back when they hit the new year.”_  
It made sense, so Dan accepted it. Two weeks he’d have with Phil. Phil hadn’t said anything when he’d told him, just smiled. Dan bit his lip as he stared at Phil, who looked up a moment later from his book to meet his gaze.   
“Yes?” Phil said with a cheeky grin, raising his eyebrow as Dan blushed, his hand reaching up to his neck again.  
Dan spluttered on words, not really sure what to say at this point, considering all he could think about was Phil straddling him three days ago. Phil seemed to guess what Dan was thinking about as he placed the book on the floor and scooted a little closer to Dan, who could only giggle and turn redder. Phil laughed, leaning over him again.   
“You know, since you will be here for a while, even in theory, why not make this last?” Phil said, his eyes darting from Dan’s eyes to his lips.   
“Hmm?” Dan said, entranced by Phil’s gaze.   
Phil leaned closer, whispering into Dan’s ear, “We could try it again. Go a little further this time…”   
Dan let out a breath, “Yeah…”  
He let out a whimper as Phil’s teeth scraped softly over the hickey, renewing it.   
Phil stopped and leaned over him again. There was a moment of silence before Phil crashed his lips onto Dan’s, his hands beginning to roam Dan’s chest. Phil’s hand went under his shirt, which was really just one of Phil’s t-shirts, and tore it over Dan’s head with one swift motion. Dan returned the favor by unbuttoning Phil’s plaid shirt, letting Phil shrug it off before continuing the kiss. Phil stopped it abruptly again, his hands going lower. He moved down, kissing down Dan’s stomach. He smirked back at Dan as he saw the bulge in his skinny jeans.   
“You know, I don’t really think we need these. Do we, Dan?” Phil said seductively.   
Dan shook his head, his breathing still heavy from the kiss and the anticipation.   
Phil slowly moved his hands down to Dan’s belt, and Dan squirmed under his touch. He undid the clasps and took off his jeans, throwing them nonchalantly onto the floor. He moved again and began kissing up Dan’s thighs, making the other boy squirm even more.   
“Phil…” Dan breathed, his voice shaky. “Mm, please…”   
Phil fingered with the waistline of Dan’s boxers, “Beg.”   
“Please, oh god, please, Phil.” Dan groaned as Phil’s hand went lower.   
Phil slid Dan’s boxers off with a smirk, continuing his teasing kisses.   
“Ohhhh… Phil, please,” Dan moaned, feeling his body bucking up from want.   
“Good boy, Dan,” Phil said before finally wrapping his mouth around Dan’s cock.  
Dan gasped, gripping the sheets tightly. He continued moaning Phil’s name as Phil bobbed his head up and down, swirling his tongue around Dan’s member. After a few minutes of Dan’s moans growing into curses, Phil stopped abruptly, and Dan’s hips bucked at the stop. Phil climbed on top of Dan, kissing him again. Phil’s erection pressed against Dan’s through his jeans, and Dan slid his hands down to Phil’s ass. He held it for a second before helping Phil wiggle out of his jeans, without breaking the kiss. Dan sat up, pressing his bare back against the wall as Phil deepened the kiss while wrapping his legs around Dan. He broke the kiss again, adjusting himself on Dan. He lowered himself onto Dan’s cock, groaning at the feeling of Dan inside him. Dan let out a gasp and a moan and Phil slowly started moving up and down on Dan’s erection. His back pushed off the wall again as his chest met with Phil’s, one arm wrapping around Phil while the other hand started pumping on Phil’s cock. Phil’s hands wandered up Dan’s back, his fingernails digging into the older boy’s skin as he let out a moan.   
“Ph-Phil. Fuck, oh, oh Jesus, fuck…” Dan moaned, biting his lip as he felt himself climax. He let out one last scream of Phil’s name as he exploded inside of him, feeling Phil’s cum on his hand and on his stomach. They both bucked a few more times before finally flopping back down onto Phil’s bed, chests heaving. Dan opened his eyes to see Phil smiling tiredly at him.   
“That was fun,” Phil commented with another smirk.   
“Yeah, that was the most fun I’ve ever had,” Dan said with an impish grin back.   
Phil laughed, playfully hitting him.   
“You know, I think we need to take a shower now. We could save water by doing it together,” Phil continued with a wink.   
Dan rolled his eyes, but he let himself be dragged to the bathroom anyways.   
“Maybe a little round 2.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i lied in the last chapter apparently since everyone wanted smut so badly  
> you wanted the porn, well here's the fucking porn (that might be a pun) (at least now i know why you are here...)
> 
> i'm going to hell now i'm sorry grandma


	6. Chapter 6

“Fucking hell…” Phil half moaned, the image of Dan spreading out in front of him in his mind.   
He tried to get it out of his mind, to distract himself by reading, only to realize it was the same book he’d been reading when his past-self seduced his best friend. He couldn’t help the guilt when he remembered Dan saying he wanted to stay. _And why should he want to come back when past Phil was giving him what he’d always wanted, while Phil was stuck realizing how stupid he’d been all those years?_ The young Dan still didn’t talk very much, and Phil could tell he was probably still in shock about the whole situation. _He didn’t blame him._ But Phil also realized it was because Dan had loved him the whole time, and so the little Dan didn’t know what to say to him. It didn’t help with Phil’s guilt, but he didn’t push him.   
_What was Phil without Dan?_ One was stuck in another time, and the other wouldn’t talk to him for more than ten minutes at a time, so he was starting to realize the answer. _There was a time when he would have been fine by himself. But Dan was so intertwined in his heart, mind, and soul that he didn’t know how he didn’t realize before. Dan’s unrequited love wasn’t so unrequited after all._

 

“Come on, they aren’t that bad!”   
Dan rolled his eyes at Phil, picking up one of the Christmas cookies they’d baked together. He couldn’t help of think of all the baking videos they’d done in Dan’s past and Phil’s future. He knew all of the phangirls would have died on Tumblr if they’d seen the way Dan had flicked flour at Phil, who had retaliated by shaking it onto Dan’s face before kissing him with a smile.   
“The whale looks more like a cloud, really.” Dan commented with a grin.   
“Oh shut up,” Phil said before taking a bite of it, before Dan could pull it away.   
“Phil!”

After icing them, they’d cuddled up together in Phil’s living room for a Christmas movie with cookies and cocoa.  Dan was leaned against Phil and rested his head on top of Phil’s.   
“We’ll have to go Christmas shopping soon.” Phil said, knowing neither of them was really paying attention to the movie.   
“Alright. Tomorrow? We could go out for lunch too,” Dan suggested.   
Phil nodded, leaning further into Dan as they fell back into silence.   
“Two weeks…” Phil murmured.   
Dan didn’t say anything; he just held tighter to Phil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is so short, it's a bit of time lapse and some reaction from Phil YOU GUYS NEED TO CHILL 
> 
> (unrelated: it was my birthday yesterday woohooo) (i'm 17 now if you care)


	7. Chapter 7

When Dan woke up Christmas morning, he didn't want to leave Phil's bed. Not now, not ever. He was content to lay there and enjoy this moment, able to look at Phil all he wanted without having to even worry about what his Phil would think. But this was his Phil, maybe even more so than the one he lived with. He shook his head, trying to get the thought out of his mind. It was bad enough knowing that Phil knew now, even though he wouldn't talk to the younger Dan about it. He could see the way Phil looked at him, almost looking sad, even guilty. He really didn't want to think about what going back would bring. It was ironic, wasn't it? He wanted to get back home, nothing more. Now he didn't want to leave. Phil finally knew, and he loved him back. Phil stirred, automatically wrapping his arms tighter around Dan, as if to prevent him from leaving, even though Dan had no mind to. As Phil slowly began to actually wake up, Dan stayed silent, not wanting to disturb the moment. "Food or presents?" Phil asked softly, his breath tickling Dan's ear. Dan let out a short, breathy laugh. "We can just eat the rest of the pizza while we open them." He replied. "That's not a proper Christmas dinner, but alright." To Dan's slight sadness, Phil sat up to put his glasses on. Phil took his hand and made Dan get up as he led them to the living room, where they had put the few presents they had under it. Dan only had the one from Phil, while Phil had a few from his family. He didn't mind though. He played with one of the baubles on the tree as Phil heated up the leftovers. "Alright, who goes first?" Phil said as he handed Dan his. "You can open yours first." Dan ate while he watched Phil open the new Nintendo game from his dad, Steven King book from his brother, and chocolate box from his mum. He watched with anticipation as Phil tore the wrapping for the one Dan had gotten him. He only had what his mum had given him to get Phil's present, but he figured he would like it anyways. It had seemed like a weird awakening when he'd found it, because he had recognized the lioness that had become Lion's counterpart in Phil's videos. It was making him question a little about the whole timeline, since he was giving it to Phil now, instead of how he'd gotten it before. Phil's face lit up when he saw it, so Dan decided not to stress about it. Minor detail, if anything. "Here's yours," Phil said, handing Dan a small unwrapped box. He was a little quieter, Dan couldn't help but notice. Dan took off the lid to see the small necklace lying inside. It was small, something you could wear and nobody really notice it. Just a simple 'D' on a thin chain. "I figured it would be something not too weird. And maybe when you go, you can still have it with you." Phil explained. Dan noticed the slight sparkle around Phil's own neck. He smiled as he realized Phil was wearing a similar one, with a 'P'. "That's the catch, it's a matching necklace." Dan said. Phil shrugged sheepishly as Dan pulled him into a hug. "Let me put it on you!" Phil said excitedly. Dan turned around and handed Phil the necklace. Dan looked back and saw Phil's tongue sticking out in concentration as he did the clasp. Dan grinned against his will as he turned back to face Phil again. Phil smiled back, pulling him into his lap as he nestled his head against the crook of Dan's neck. "I love you." Phil said suddenly. Dan was quiet for a moment, feeling his mouth open a little. "I love you too, Phil."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry for the delay in writing! I have been in Europe, plus I haven't had my laptop (so if there are any mistakes, it's cause I'm posting this straight from my iPhone)(also side note: I don't know when I'll actually be able to update because my mom is taking my laptop and my phone so I have nothing to write it on, but I'll try to at least come up with the next chapters)  
> Anyways, I'm sorry to say, but I think this is going to come to an end within the next couple chapters, depending on what I can come up with. Thank you so much for all of the support I've gotten on this, because this is currently my most read fic and I'm glad I could make so many people happy with my writing. Again, this will be over within the next couple of chapters and I'm not planning on writing a sequel (because I've already started a sequel for my other fic and it's not going the greatest with inspiration), but if you want me to write more phanfics, I am completely open to suggestions (no guarantee that I will, but I will probably attempt)  
> This has started to sound like the ramble at the end of a YouTube video but whatever. You can check out my tumblr (samdafangirl.tumblr.com) and suggest things to write their or whatever. Or not, I don't care. Okay I should shut up now... Bye


	8. Chapter 8

The days went by too fast, in Dan's opinion. December 31st, 11:00. If the theory was right, he only had an hour left with Phil. There was so little time, but neither of them could think of anything to say. Dan simply lay beside Phil, holding his hand and trying to hold back tears. He would lose this Phil, and possibly the other one too. Dan saw the looks Phil gave his younger self as the weeks wore on. He couldn't say if Phil would pretend he didn't know that Dan had fallen in love with him, or if it would ruin their friendship, or whatever else could happen. He felt Phil's hand move his hair out of his face, and he looked up to meet Phil's sad gaze. "I know you're worried how my older self will react. But, for the record, if I were him, I'd love you back." Phil said quietly, a small smile on his face. Dan couldn't help but smile at that. He looked over at the clock. 11:25. "I don't want to see you go." Phil commented. Dan looked back at their intertwined hands. He closed his eyes for a moment and just listened to Phil's breath. "It may make it harder if I'm here... I'll just sleep in the living room. I mean, chances are we were all wrong and I'll be there in the morning," Dan said, trying to smile at him. "What if you aren't?" Phil said sadly as Dan moved off of the bed. Dan looked at Phil for a moment, feeling tears sting his eyes. "I don't know," he said softly, his voice breaking. He leaned back down to Phil and kissed him one last time. "But I do know that there is an awkward 18 year old with hair that is too long and a huge crush on you that will be here if I'm not." Phil laughed as Dan spoke, his voice dropping back to an almost whisper. "Love him. Make more memories with him, and in five years you'll have me back, even if I may be a little bit different. I would remember them, wouldn't I?" Phil nodded, smiling at Dan through his watery eyes. "Good luck with me," Phil said, pulling Dan into a final hug. Dan couldn't reply because he was so choked up at this point. When he pulled away, he ran his fingers through Phil's fringe. "I always forget how long it actually was..." Phil smiled, "I love you." Dan removed his hand and wiped away the tear that escaped. "I love you too." He looked back at the clock one more time. 11:55. "Try to go to sleep, I guess." "Don't think I could..." Dan nodded, his hand on the door handle. He stopped and looked back at Phil one more time. "This has been the most fun I've ever had." Then he walked out before he went back or started crying. He slowly walked downstairs, hoping time would go slower, that maybe he could go back and stay with Phil just a little longer. It seemed like it was. Things started to blur and fade as he walked. His head was spinning, everything was going gray, no, black, until he couldn't see anything. "Dan!" "Phil?" "I was right about the new year thing!" Dan groggily opened his eyes, watching as three Phil's became one whole Phil. Older Phil, in London. "Are you alright?" "Yeah, just dizzy," Dan said as Phil helped him up. "Yeah, I hear time travel can do that to a person." Phil said with a grin. Dan couldn't help but smile, even though he felt like his heart was about to burst out of his chest. Should he mention anything? "Phil..." Phil looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry Dan." Dan felt his heart drop. He would lose both Phil's in a five minute/five year span. Dan took a step back, trying to calm himself down, and failing. "No, I'm sorry- I knew you'd see but- I- I-" "Dan." Phil took another step closer to Dan. "I'm sorry I've been so blind all this time." Dan froze. He didn't understand. He felt like a computer with an ERROR message. "Seeing you with me, realizing how you felt, it made me realize how I felt too." Phil explained softly. Dan couldn't even speak. So much was happening, and he was a little overwhelmed. Phil seemed to notice, as he backed off again, although he did take Dan's hand. "But we can worry about all of that later. First, I think you need to rest." Phil said, urging Dan up the stairs. Dan didn't even feel himself go up, didn't remember getting in bed. But Phil was walking out of the room, shutting the door behind him. "Get some sleep, then we can talk, if you want." He said behind him. But Dan didn't go to sleep straight away. He reached up towards his neck and felt to see if the necklace was still there. He smiled when he felt it. Maybe there was some hope for him after all. And he'd always have this piece of 2009.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been busy with school, plus I've started writing... My own book! At least attempting. I've been trying to create characters and flesh them out so I can actually make it happen.
> 
> But on the subject of this fic- this isn't the last chapter. There's going to be one, maybe two, chapters of epilogue type stuff. I'm feel like it wasn't as long or detailed as I wanted it but I'm still fairly happy with it. Again, thank you for your love and support on this. Each and every comment makes me smile when I read them, and inspires me to continue on


	9. Epilogue

"This was the most fun I've ever had." Phil wanted to jump up, to pull Dan back and keep him there somehow. But instead, he sat there and listened to Dan's retreating footsteps and knowing it may be the last time he saw him. No. The other Dan, the one that was his cute awkward friend, would be back. He would become his Dan again one day... And Phil wasn't going to let him go this time. The clock in the hallway struck midnight. Phil closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Happy new year, Dan..." He opened his eyes and slid out of the bed, opening the door Dan had closed. He walked down, conflicted about which one he hoped would be there. Dan had to get back to his time, and the younger one had to be here to grow into the other. Part of Phil's heart sank when he saw the long fringe on the boy slowly standing up. He ignored it, going over. "You alright?" Dan stared at him with wide eyes, "Phil! How did I get here?" "Well, I guess you just traded places with your older self. He was here." "Oh... Right. How was he? Phil- the other one- wouldn't tell me what was going on here much." Phil couldn't help but smile a little, "He was alright. Pretty hot, really. Still a huge nerd." "Hey! Wait- you thought I was hot..?" Phil nodded, smirking a little. "Never knew you were such a good kisser." Dan's jaw dropped, "Wait WHAT?!" Phil grinned as Dan spluttered with questions. "Come on, you can sleep with me tonight. Then we'll figure out what to do next."

Dan checked his phone again, for the tenth time that hour. He'd been lying awake since 8, hearing Phil move around in the kitchen, but not having the nerve to get up and face him. He sighed. It had to happen eventually. His footsteps padded on the floor as he walked to the kitchen, where Phil was making coffee. "Morning Dan," Phil greeted. Dan gave him a small smile, although it seemed a little forced. He wondered if Phil could hear his heart pounding. "So uh... Should we just ignore the whole thing?" Dan said, a little hopefully. There was a moment of silence, and Dan could feel Phil's piercing gaze on him. "Could we?" Dan's eyes flicked up for a moment, going back to the floor when he met Phil's. "I guess not..." "Dan..." Dan was frozen to the spot as Phil moved a step closer, taking one of his hands. His eyes went back to Phil's, but this time, they stayed there. "I'm sorry I've been such an idiot all the years we've known each other." "No, it's alright," Dan choked out, his heartbeat seeming to fill the room. Time seemed to slow down as Phil's lips crashed against his. It seemed to be decades before Phil had pulled away again, and Dan was shocked to see everything exactly as it had been before. "I guess you're just used to me being an idiot." Phil said with a shy smile. "Yeah, I guess so," Dan giggled, pulling Phil back in for more.

"Dan!" Dan looked up at the sound of Phil's voice, shutting his laptop and running over to Phil's room. The other boy was sat beside his bed, with a box in his lap. "I was cleaning out the bottom of my bed-" "Wait, you were actually cleaning? Is it the apocalypse?!" Dan joked. "Shut up! But look what I found!" Phil said, holding out his hand. Dan picked up the object. It was a necklace, years old. The chain was a little rusted, but the small 'P' at the end was still intact. Dan felt his hand subconsciously reach up and touch his matching one. He was surprised to feel wetness on his lashes when he blinked. "I guess I kept it." Dan smiled, looking back at Phil. He could see the youthfulness of the one who had gotten the necklaces, but with something that only this Phil had. He couldn't place what it was, but that was okay. He had forever to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the support and love on this :) it means a lot when you take the time to write a nice comment


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